The Hopeful Nocturne
by DancingwithDestiny
Summary: After Roxas left Org. XIII, Axel goes on with his non-existant life in the castle of the shadowy group. Demyx, playful as ever, steals one of Axel's chakrams as a prank, leading to Axel having to sneak into his room in the middle of the night. -One Shot-


AUTHOR'S NOTE:  
Ok, I'll admit it; this is mostly pointless fluff -.-'  
But eh, fluff can be nice too, right? :D  
This was also written back in late '06, out of my mild curiousity about how Axel and Demyx would have interacted while in Org. XIII after having seen AkuDemy fanart for the first time. At the time, I thought it was an odd thing, given that they never had any scenes together in the game. Obviously, I was naive to the concept of crack pairings -.-'  
Anyway, this was mainly just me playing around with the potential dynamics between the two. I didn't make it romantic in any way, though you can see it that way if you like. (shrug) It's more like a sort-of, kind-of friendship, I guess. I can imagine Demyx getting on Axel's nerves something fierce :P

I own neither Kingdom Hearts nor Axel, Roxas, Vexen, or Demyx. If I did, I would've put Axel and Demyx in at least ONE scene together, if only for the hilarity of it. XD  
--

Sometime around midnight, in the castle where Organization XIII resides, the remaining members of the group were all getting ready to rest, for yet another day of work lay ahead of them. Axel, number VIII, had gone into the room of Demyx, number IX, to retrieve the chakram; one of his weapons, that was stolen from him as a prank. He thought Demyx was asleep, but…

"Axel?" he mumbled as Axel stepped into the room.

"Just getting my chakram back, don't have a problem with that, do ya?" Axel said quickly, hoping to get in and out of his room without mishap.

Demyx groaned and rolled over in his bed. After some digging in a pile of black clothes, Axel found his weapon. Just as he thought he'd be able to make a swift getaway, Demyx started to shiver.

"Axel, I'm cold," he whined.

"So?" Axel said, his eyes darting around the room frantically, looking for a way out. "You'll be fine, this happens all the time, remember?"

"Why am I the only one who gets cold around here?" the blonde complained.

"Well, I guess that's because you wield a colder element than the rest of us," Axel ventured.

"Then how come Vexen never got cold?" Demyx retorted.

"Maybe it was his warm personality," Axel said with a laugh.

"Axel…" Demyx said, rolling his eyes. "C'mon, help me out here, I'm gonna freeze!" he exclaimed dramatically.

Axel sighed. "Oh, fine then," he relented. He then walked over to the fireplace and lit it with a swipe of his hand. The flames rapidly grew and engulfed the logs, filling the hearth in seconds.

"Thanks," Demyx said with a smile, burrowing deeper into his blue, bubble-print sheets.

"Whatever," Axel muttered, then turned to try to leave the room again.

"Axel?" Demyx said suddenly.

Axel halted. "What?"

"Why do you help me out with stuff?" Demyx asked, "Everyone else just ignores me…"

Axel paused for a moment.

"Because I pity you."

"Oh, now, come on, that can't be the _whole _reason…"

"Well, it is," Axel said, his hand still gripping the doorknob.

"Come on, _tell the truth,_" Demyx said in an annoying tone. Axel made an aggravated sigh.

"Alright…you, you remind me…" he muttered.

"…of Roxas." He let go of the doorknob, turned toward the bed and sat down on the dolphin-print comforter with a huff. Demyx sat up.

"Awww…you still miss your Roxie," he said as he leaned over to hug Axel.

Axel wasn't amused. "Shut up," he said as Demyx proceeded to give him a light squeeze.

"Well, I think it's cute!" Demyx said, pulling away from Axel. "So what is it, my hair color, or my height?" he asked in a curious tone.

"Neither," Axel said. Demyx raised an eyebrow.

"It's that…no one really respects you. They treat you like crap and they don't really care. You _are _the smallest now, and I…kind of feel like you need defending."

Demyx got a little mad, but Axel continued before he could say anything in protest.

"That's how it was with Roxas; everyone else treated him like some sort of an object, like a tool that would pave the way to victory," he said, finishing with a sarcastic tone and an exaggerated flourish of his hand, no doubt mocking Xemnas, the Organization's leader.

"I was the only one who didn't view him that way. I felt like I had to be the older brother that he never had, someone to stick up for him when no one else would."

"Aww, you should show your sensitive side more often, Axel," Demyx cooed. Axel ignored him.

"Now, he doesn't have anyone, no one to defend him, just himself," he said sadly.

Demyx paused for a moment, then looked up at Axel with a smile.

"Well, if it makes you feel any better, I think he can handle himself just fine, you'll see," he said happily.

"But…there are so many things out there he hasn't seen or experienced before, plus the Organization breathing down his neck…how's he going to handle it?" Axel said, lacing his fingers in his hair and holding his forehead in the palms of his hands.

Demyx wasn't deterred.

"Axel, you're forgetting; he learned from the best! You taught him all he knows about defending himself!" he grinned.

"Yeah…but did I teach him enough?"

Axel sighed and got up from Demyx's bed.

"He'll be fine, I know it," Demyx said with confidence as Axel made his way back to the door. Axel stopped just before the doorway and was silent for a moment.

"You know, I wasn't lying before; I do pity you," he said with a sly grin.

"Yeah, I know," Demyx said, slipping back into his bed. "I don't mind."

"Goodnight Axel!"

Axel smiled back at him.

"Goodnight Demyx."

He then left the room with his retrieved chakram, as the fireplace burned warmly.

The End


End file.
